Kenta Sakakibara

Kenta Sakakibara is Country Manager for Japan at Circle, where he oversees the company’s business strategy and operations in Japan, driving the adoption of USDC and bridging the gap between traditional finance and Web3 in the region.

Prior to joining Circle, Kenta held leadership roles in partnerships and business development at Google Payments. He played a pivotal role in forging first-of-its-kind collaborations with leading payment entities in Japan, driving product partnerships and strategy development, and successfully leading market launches in Australia and New Zealand. Kenta also led the acquisition and post-merger integration of a local fintech company, strengthening Google’s fintech presence in Japan.

Before his tenure at Google, Kenta served as Vice President at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and JRI America in New York, where he held roles as Product Manager, Project Manager, and Software Engineer. In these capacities, he managed the company’s global cash management system across the Americas region and led its market expansion into Brazil.

Kenta earned a bachelor's degree in Policy Studies from Nanzan University and holds a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD.